The prior art arm and fire devices used in rockets and missiles fall into two categories: electronic, and electromechanical. The prior art electronic devices lack means to mechanically move the detonators to align and misalign them with the pickups, and therefore the detonators are always aligned with the pickups. Consequently, errors in the electronics could lead to inadvertent firing. On the other hand, the prior art electromechanical devices utilize sliding electrical contacts that move past each other. Over time, physical degradation of the contacts (caused for example by polymerization through exposure to vaporous low weight molecular organic compounds) can impair performance of the contacts in testing and/or use.